


Blood on the snow

by White_Ithiliel



Series: Space trash bin [3]
Category: Batman (Movies - Nolan), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: "Birth" of Ra's al Ghul, Angst, Blood, Drama, Family, Gen, No happy end, Qui-Gon is Ra's, Violence, crossover AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 10:35:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10554888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/White_Ithiliel/pseuds/White_Ithiliel
Summary: "Why?" Obi-Wan asks, voice close to breaking as he stares into Anakin’s face.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is set a few years before Batman Begins and only a year after my previous one-shot. What happened? Well, basically, Anakin fell in love with Padme (gotta write something about that too) and made friend with a weird guy called Sheev. When Padme died, Sheev somehow convinced Anakin that it was the Shadows' fault. That's why Anakin is currently trying to destroy the League, among other shit. Oh, and of course Obi-Wan won't let him.

"Why?" Obi-Wan asks, voice close to breaking as he stares into Anakin’s face.

"Why?" mocks his once brother, grinning like a madman - looking almost like the joker in a pack of cards.

He takes a step forward, eyes glittering dangerously as the fake mirth leaves his face, replaced by pure, unrepressed hatred.

"I'll tell you why," Anakin growls, sounding like a wild animal - an untamed monster thirsty for blood. "The League is corrupted! The only way to make things right is to bring it down!"

Obi-Wan's heart squeezes painfully in his chest as he tries to avoid the young man's crazed gaze.

"Is this about Padme?" Obi-Wan inquires softly, remembering how devastated Anakin was when she died.

His best friend all but snarls.

"Don't bring Padme into this! She has  _ nothing _ to do with anything!"

But that's a lie, of course. Obi-Wan knows it, knows that Anakin always held them responsible for what happened - he should have realized it earlier. But he's not going to say so - it would be of no use.

"It's Sheev's fault then," he states sadly, meeting the other ninja's eyes again. " _ He _ told you the League was corrupted, didn't he? He manipulated you into believing we are your enemies."

"He didn't  _ manipulate _ me! He made me see the truth about Jinn and his… his  _ minions _ !"

Obi-Wan positively flinches at this. When had Qui-Gon become "Jinn" in Anakin's eyes?

"What truth?" he asks, knowing very well that he's not going to like the answer.

"He  _ used _ us to do his bidding. He never  _ cared _ about us. We were just good apprentices, nothing more. He would have replaced us without a second thought if he had found someone better!"

"I won't believe that," Obi-Wan replies, taking a deep breath and hardening his gaze.

His eyes are full of certainty, while Anakin's are on fire, two lakes of swirling, molten lava. But then something shifts in these heinous orbs and they soften, flames turning to ashes, anger and rage crumbling into sadness.

"He wronged both of us equally," Anakin coaxes. "Join me, Obi-Wan, and together we will be able to put this at end."

But Obi-Wan is already stepping back, shaking his head.

"You know I will never betray Qui-Gon, regardless whether what you say about the League is true or not. He's like a father to me. To  _ us.  _ Remember how he…”

"A  _ father _ ?!" Anakin cut him off, yelling. " _ I don't think so _ ! To  _ you _ perhaps, since you were always the  _ precious, favored _ student, his  _ golden boy _ ! But to me? He was always cold, uncaring, needlessly stern! He never loved me, never told me he was proud!"

"That doesn't mean he wasn't!" Obi-Wan cries desperately, eyes stinging.

He  _ must _ make Anakin see reason. He can't let him destroy himself.

But the other’s glare sharpens once more, blazing flames springing back to life. Anakin slowly draws his saber out of its sheath, the metal casting fleeting sparkle of reflected light onto the bright snow.

He points the blade at Obi-Wan, frighteningly calm.

"Draw your sword. Fight  _ for _ me, or  _ against  _ me - I don't care which, but either way this is all about to end."

His words are like acid, burning their way through Obi-Wan's chest, biting and gnawing until they reach his heart, almost making him scream in anger and pain.

"I  _ won't _ !! I won't draw my sword, neither against you nor against Qui-Gon!!!" he howls.

"Then you will die," Anakin states emotionlessly.

And then he lunges at Obi-Wan, teeth bared in a feral grin.

At first, the other only ducks the attacks, desperate to escape without getting killed or hurting his brother. But melted snow, shards of ice, and pebbles fly around them, kicked up by their struggle, and it soon appears Obi-Wan won't be able to keep avoiding Anakin's saber if he doesn't wish to see blood splatter the ground.

And thus, he takes his own saber, blade glittering brightly in the daylight as he raises it above his head, like the weapon of a vengeful angel whose wrath is about to unfold.

For a split second, as the mirrored light flashes in his eyes, Anakin thinks he can see the fleeting shadow of outstretched wings flapping behind his former best friend's back, but he dismisses the idea quickly.

The white snow turns into murky slush as they trample it, jumping, and dodging and leaping and lunging and skipping and skidding. Steel meets steel repeatedly, the clash of blades reverberating throughout the mountains, like the toll of a thousand bells announcing the oncoming apocalypse.

They dance, though no one can hear the music.

Obi-Wan uses Soresu, his defensive saber form, always refusing to make the first move and thus saving his strength. This proves to be Anakin's undoing. The former Shadow still lunges madly as his opponent, throwing both Ataru and Djem So movements in his blind attacks, judgement too clouded by his rage to understand that the other man can keep this pace for much longer than himself. Soresu users are  _ enduring _ .

And Anakin eventually understands that when he begins stumbling every few strikes while Obi-Wan has yet to break a sweat.

Deciding the fight must end now before his once brother finally decides to attack instead of defending himself, Anakin makes a dangerous move - somersaulting above his opponent’s head to place himself behind the other's back.

Which, of course, doesn't work.

Half a second later he lies flat on the ground, and the tip of Obi-Wan's blade is pricking his neck, drawing a small trickle of blood.

"It's over, Anakin. Surrender or die." 

His voice wavers on the last syllable.

"You won't kill me," the fallen Shadow sneers, chest still heaving as he struggles to catch his breath. "I know you won't," he adds, his voice bordering alarmingly on insanity.

And he throws himself upwards toward the deadly tip.

Obi-Wan immediately withdraws it, faster than the eye can see, and thrusts it aside.

"You’re right," comes the broken whisper. "I would never be able to do that."

And he just stands there, holding out his hand and waiting for his former best friend to take it and get on his feet. His blue eyes shine with hope and concealed tears and Anakin strives to stifle a laugh.

_ So naïve… And incredibly foolish. _

The dark-haired ninja takes the offered hand nevertheless, and Obi-Wan's face lights up. He draws a suddenly sobbing Anakin in a tight embrace, both of them shaking.

"It's okay. It's okay, little brother. Everything will be all right, I pro…"

But he never gets to finish.

Anakin's fake tears dry as he suddenly slides a dagger from his sleeve, stabbing the other young man right in the heart.

Obi-Wan's eyes widen and his lips part slightly in shock as his murderer grins widely.

"You never learned to do what is necessary," Anakin murmurs viciously into his ear before pulling back, still holding him by the shoulders.

Obi-Wan gasps and staggers. He stares pleadingly into the eyes of his enemy, confused and unable to comprehend what just happened. Anakin pushes him away violently and watches him crash on the cold rocks and snow.

He can't breathe, can't call out for help - there is blood in his mouth, bubbling in his throat… He resists the pull of the darkness as long as he can, but it all just feels so dark, so empty… 

_ Qui-Gon… _

Anakin observes, motionless, as Obi-Wan's form grows still, unmoving. He can't even see his chest rise.

He turns away, indifferent, when his eyes suddenly meet Jinn's appalled ones.

* * *

 

"What have you done, Anakin?" the older man asks frostily, voice and features betraying nothing of his internal anguish.

" _ Master _ ," Anakin taunts, smirking. "Glad you could join us. Your favorite student and I were just having a slight disagreement over quite a simple matter. Perhaps you would care to settle out debate?"

And he kicks his former best friend in the chest, eliciting an agonized moan of pain.

Qui-Gon's years of training and hard life are the only things preventing him from running to his wounded apprentice's side. He can see a steadily growing puddle of blood on the ground, the dark red liquid already melting away the snow.

But he can't go to Obi-Wan yet. He must deal with Anakin first.

The leader of the Shadows draws his own blade slowly, taking a step forward.

"Cease this madness  _ now _ . It's not too late; the things you have done are not yet beyond forgiveness."

Anakin actually stops, apparently considering the words.

"I…" he starts. "I will enjoy killing you."

And he lunges at Qui-Gon just as he attacked Obi-Wan, only to find his most violent and cunning strikes parried with a mere flick of the wrist.

"I taught you everything you know, Anakin," the long-haired man shouts as his former apprentice attempts to strike him once more. "You cannot win this fight."

And the younger man knows he cannot, not when he's already exhausted. But that won't stop him from trying.

"As you always said,  _ Jinn _ ," comes the venomous reply, "it's a poor student who does not surpass his Master.”

But his arrogance and cockiness don't get him far.

Anakin never imagined he would see death arrive in slow motion - yet, it seems like years before the blade beheads him. He watches it come slowly, eyes bulging in surprise.

Oddly enough, his last thought before Qui-Gon kills him is  _ not  _ what everyone would think. It's not about Padme, not about Sheev… and not even about life or death.

_ … I hope Obi-Wan won't be too mad the next time we see each other. _

* * *

 

Anakin's body hasn't even touched the ground before Qui-Gon is running toward Obi-Wan's prone form.

He falls to his knees beside the young man.

"Obi-Wan! Look at me!!" he all but yells, taking his remaining apprentice by the shoulders.

Obi-Wan doesn't even twitch as Qui-Gon presses his hands on the wound, desperately trying to stop the outpouring of blood.

"Obi-Wan!!"

At last the boy stirs feebly, dragging his heavy eyelids open with tremendous effort and raising already unseeing eyes until their gazes meet. He reaches weakly for his mentor and tries vainly to grasp the man's sleeve.

"Ma… Master?" he coughs, choking in his own blood. 

Qui-Gon feels as though he's living last year's nightmare all over again, when his young apprentice had almost died to protect him. Only this time, there is no miraculous healing, no recovery. No  _ chance. _ Pretending otherwise would be useless denial.

"I'm here," he soothes as his heart breaks, though he doubts Obi-Wan can hear him, and he gently pulls his student in his arms, resting him on his lap.

Obi-Wan screams in agony, snapping his blind eyes shut as he attempts to fist his hands in the rough fabric of Qui-Gon's tunics. He is whiter than the snow around them, and his blood still flows to the ground, turning the earth and slush crimson beneath them.

Qui-Gon doesn't loosen his grip.

"Open your eyes, Obi-Wan. Please."

And the docile young boy tries to obey one last time. His eyelids flutter for a split second, but he can't muster the energy to open them anymore.

Still struggling for breath, he mouths something that could be "don't leave" and he tries again, brow furrowed in pain and concentration.

Qui-Gon can sense Obi-Wan's shame and disappointment for not being able to do as his Master asked.

"It's all right, young one. Just rest," he comforts, lightly stroking the matted, blood-stained hair.

Obi-Wan's features smooth slightly and a soft sigh escapes his trembling lips.

They stay there for a long time, one fading in the arms of the other, their breathing the only sound to be heard as the sun sets quietly over the snowy mountains.

After what feels like an eternity, Obi-Wan's body suddenly jerks and his painful and labored breathing turns into panicked gasps as he fumbles to seize Qui-Gon's hand.

They squeeze each other's fingers with a strength born out of despair, and deep love - the kind that binds a parent and their child.

Obi-Wan's body spasms as he fights off death harder than he has ever fought - only it's a losing battle, and he barely manages to raise his head scant centimeters off his chest.

"Father… I…" he breathes, but the rest is lost in a heartbreaking moan.

His hand suddenly falls limp in Qui-Gon's. The gasps cease altogether. His features slacken. And his heartbeat slows, grows weaker… and then stops.

And Qui-Gon can only stare in horror. He raises a shaky hand to cover his mouth, before recoiling in nausea once he realizes it's covered in blood.  _ Obi-Wan's _ blood.

Blood. Crimson. Everywhere. The snow, the rocks, their clothes. Even the dying light of the sun is red.

* * *

 

The two young men are buried together, high in the mountains, where no one can find the grave. The funeral takes place only a day after Qui-Gon comes home carrying Obi-Wan's frozen body in his arms. Another Shadow recovers Anakin the same day.

Qui-Gon can't even bear to think about him. About any of his students.

He knows, of course, that  _ somebody  _ influenced Anakin and made him turn against them. But he still needs time to forgive his apprentice. However, he already vowed upon all that is sacred that he would find the man responsible for the boy's fall. And when he does…

Nobody asks what happened. They just accept it when Qui-Gon announces they are going to return to the League's ancient ways. They will show no mercy to the criminals anymore. They will cease to be people and become ideas.  _ Real _ shadows.

Nobody questions it when Qui-Gon cuts his long hair and changes his name into Ra's al Ghul. The Head of the Demon. Fitting. The name comes from an old myth, which reminds him of his own life. The tale of a man, betrayed by a close friend, who morphs into a dark angel and avenges the death of his loved ones by destroying his former friend's city.

And Ra's very much intends to do the same. 

 


End file.
